Law of conservation of mass

With the development of more scientific ideas on elements, compounds and mixtures, people began to probe into how and why substances react. French chemist A. Lavoisier laid the foundation to the scientific investigation of matter by describing that substances react by following certain laws. These laws are called the laws of chemical combination. These later on formed the basis of Dalton's Atomic Theory of Matter.

Law of Conservation of Mass

According to this law, during any physical or chemical change, the total mass of the products remains equal to the total mass of the reactants.

Law of conservation of mass is also known as 'Law of indestructibility of matter'.

Example 1:

If 10 grams of CaCO₃ on heating gave 4.4g of CO₂ and 5.6g of CaO, show that these observations are in agreement with the law of conservation of mass.

Solution:

Mass of the reactants = 10gMass of the products = 4.4 + 5.6g = 10gSince the mass of the reactants is equal to the mass of the products, the observations are in agreement with the law of conservation of mass.